rethinking, repurposing, recycling, recreating

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chest of drawers redux

Three weeks before my house was due to be on a house tour, I renewed my determination to finally find a chest of drawers that I could use as a dining room buffet and to store table linens. My budget was pretty much nil, so I decided to look for an old chest that I could rehab. With a target budget of no more than $50, I started trolling through the local thrift stores, but nothing really grabbed me. I knew I’d know it when I saw it, and I wasn’t willing to settle.

Finally, I stopped at a yard sale one day and found the chest below, which I got for $20. It had rusty old drawer pulls and an awful green and black “antiquing” finish (remember antiquing?), but it had potential—good solid wood construction and the clean lines I was looking for. Done.

When I got the chest home, I removed the drawer pulls and got out my sander. I was going for a weathered/rustic look, so my aim was to remove as much of the paint as possible. As I sanded, the black paint quickly disappeared, leaving only the green, which was now lighter. I liked it, so I ended up not removing as much paint as I’d originally intended. The chest was now a warm mix of green and brown.

Next: new drawer pulls. Pleasants Hardware here in Richmond has a great selection, so off I went. I wanted something different, and I ended up finding these great brushed nickel rectangular pulls. They echo the boxy line of the chest but give it a modern edge. I love the mix of old and new—and they were $30, so I came in right on budget!

Here’s a shot of the finished chest in the dining room…

The dining room is painted a pale green (Valspar Olive White). I love the way the brown and green in the chest echo the other greens and browns throughout the room. The mirror is on loan from a friend until I find one that I like, and I also want to get a different lamp, but I’m patient. As my hunt for the chest proved, it’s worth it to wait for just the right piece.